Editing Mehmet Ali Agca

Father Felix Morlion and the International University of Social Studies (Pro Deo): Morlion, a former OSS official and founder of the Pro Deo intelligence agency in Rome, became president of the International University of Social Studies. He was instrumental in shaping right-wing policies within the Italian government and reportedly began recruiting terrorists and assassins. (Williams, p. 108)

1970s: Rise of the Grey Wolves and the Turkish Drug Trade

Growth of the Grey Wolves: By 1976, there were 1,700 Grey Wolves organizations in Turkey, with approximately 200,000 registered members and over a million sympathizers. Their beliefs included the restoration of the Ottoman Empire and the elimination of Kurds. (Williams, p. 172)

Turkish Drug Lords and their Ties to MIT: Abuzer Uğurlu, Bekir Çelenk, and Huseyn Cil were leading "babas" (members of the Turkish underworld) and Grey Wolves with strong ties to the MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Organization). By 1975, Uğurlu, described as the "boss of all bosses," controlled a multibillion-dollar contraband operation, partly financed by narcotics. His crew of professional killers included Mehmet Ali Ağca.

Bekir Çelenk served as the front man for the contraband enterprise, owning a fleet of ships and hotels by 1975. Huseyn Cil, the "brains" of the operation, developed contacts in Naples and Milan, including with leading members of the Camorra, which led to connections with Roberto Calvi (head of Banco Ambrosiano) and Archbishop Paul Marcinkus (head of the Vatican Bank, IOR). (Williams, p. 172)

Opium Trade and Mafia Connections 

(Late 1975): Uğurlu, Çelenk, and Cil sent Sami Duruoz to Sicily to negotiate a deal with Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano of the Corleonesi clan for opium from the Golden Crescent. When Duruoz failed, he was murdered. Within a year, Cevdet Cil, Huseyn Cil's brother, was sent as a new emissary to the Sicilian Commission. (Williams, p. 172)

CIA Nurtures Grey Wolves (Throughout the 1970s): CIA operatives in Turkey, including Henry P. Schardt and Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, allegedly "nurtured" several of Abuzer Uğurlu's "Wolf cubs," such as Abdullah Çatlı and Mehmet Ali Ağca.

Çatlı became the vice-chairman of the Grey Wolves and performed high-profile assassinations, including the murder of seven left-wing activists in 1978. He worked with the CIA as an agent provocateur in the 1980 coup. Ağca began as a drug smuggler on the Balkan route, becoming one of Uğurlu's trusted couriers and later a bodyguard and hitman, working with Çatlı and Oral Çelik. (Williams, p. 203)

Formation of Ergenekon (1978): This organization, described as having ties to figures like William Donovan, Paul Helliwell, and James Jesus Angleton, was formed. By controlling the heroin trade from the Golden Triangle, Ergenekon became worth over 20% of Turkey's earned income. (Williams, p. 203)

Abdi İpekçi Murder (February 1, 1979): Mehmet Ali Ağca participated in the murder of Abdi İpekçi, editor-in-chief of Milliyet, a leading Turkish daily newspaper. Ağca was apprehended, confessed, and sentenced to life. After serving six months, he "escaped" from an Istanbul prison in August 1979, escorted by Abdullah Çatlı, suggesting complicity. (Williams, p. 203)

Ağca's Movements after "Escape" (August 1980 onwards): After his "escape," Mehmet Ali Ağca traveled to the Hotel Vitosha in Sofia, where he met with Bekir Çelenk and other "babas." He resumed his role as an "enforcer" for the Stibam pipeline, a drug route from the Balkans into Western Europe. He made trips to Palermo to meet with Pippo Calò and Toto Riina, and to Milan for conferences with Henri Arsan. He continuously changed his passport and assumed new identities. (Williams, p. 209)

1980-1981: The Bologna Bombing and the Papal Assassination Attempt

Bologna Bombing (August 2, 1980): A time bomb exploded in the Bologna Central Station, killing 84 people and wounding over 200. Blame was initially placed on the Red Brigades and the radical left. This massacre brought Gladio's role in the "strategy of tension" to light. (Williams, p. 108)

Investigation into Heroin Smuggling (Six months before papal assassination attempt - late 1980): Italian judge Carlo Palermo launched an investigation into heroin smuggling in northern Italy. He discovered that heroin was arriving in police cars provided by Karah Mehmet Ali, a Turkish Mafia agent. Karl Kofler was identified as a key importer, linked to a kidnapping ring and a Sicilian Mafia laboratory producing 100 kg of heroin per week. Kofler was in league with Stefano Bontade, who had arranged Michele Sindona's fake kidnapping. (Williams, p. 215)

Kofler's Arrest (January 1981): Karl Kofler was taken into custody and provided details about the Balkan route, the "babas," the Sicilian Men of Honor, and Stibam International, which had become the hub of the drug trade. (Williams, p. 215)

Preparation for Papal Assassination (1981): Mehmet Ali Ağca and Abdullah Çatlı were safe in Munich, a refuge due to the presence of 50,000 Grey Wolves in West Germany, who acted as "storm troopers" for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND - Germany's Federal Intelligence Service), an outgrowth of Gladio set up by the CIA under former Nazi General Reinhard Gehlen. Çatlı later testified that he received three million marks from the German secret service for the hit. Oral Çelik, a fellow Grey Wolf who provided backup in the İpekçi killing, joined them. (Williams, p. 209-210)

Meeting with Morlion (April 18, 1981): Ağca, Çatlı, and Çelik traveled to Milan to meet Bekir Çelenk at Stibam. From Milan, they traveled to Rome. (Williams, p. 210)

Pope John Paul II Assassination Attempt (May 13, 1981): Mehmet Ali Ağca shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. Ağca was apprehended. The arrest warrant stated he acted "in collaboration with other individuals whose identity remains unknown." Magistrate Luciano Infelisi, initially assigned to the investigation, concluded that Ağca did not act alone, but was quickly removed from the case. The trial lasted only three days. Sister Letizia identified Ağca, but a photo showing another man running away with a pistol raised questions about other gunmen. Former CIA agents Theodore Shackley and Tom Clines were observed at the scene, their presence unexplained. (Williams, p. 211)

Ağca's Trial and Imprisonment: Ağca was sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy for the assassination attempt. He was later pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in June 2000 at the Pope's request and deported to Turkey. (Williams, p. 211, 1.1, 1.2)

Ağca's Subsequent Imprisonment in Turkey: In Turkey, he was imprisoned for the 1979 murder of Abdi İpekçi and for two bank raids. (1.1, 1.2)

1985: Sindona's Confessions

Sindona's Imprisonment (September 25, 1985): Michele Sindona was transported to Rebibbia prison in Rome, occupying the cell previously held by Mehmet Ali Ağca. Five days later, he was moved to a maximum-security women's prison in Voghera, Milan. (Williams, p. 249)

Sindona's Revelations: While awaiting trial, Sindona spoke to American journalist Nick Tosches, revealing details about the US government's protection of the drug trade and how "dirty money" accumulated. He claimed US agencies like the President's Commission on Organized Crime functioned to "create" dirty money and captured "intermediaries" but not the "real crime lords" who had become the "world's establishment." He also mentioned sending reports on the Italian Communist Party to the US ambassador and the White House, and the Vatican's IOR involvement in money laundering. (Williams, p. 249)

1996: Susurluk Incident and Gladio's Continued Influence

Susurluk Incident (November 3, 1996): Abdullah Çatlı, the Gladio contract killer involved in the papal assassination attempt, was killed in a car crash in Susurluk, Turkey. Also found in the wreckage were his girlfriend and Hüseyin Kocadağ, the deputy chief of the Istanbul police force. Sedat Bucak, an MP, survived. Investigators found eight national identity cards for Çatlı with different aliases (one used by Ağca), two diplomatic passports, and a gun permit approved by [[Mehmet Ağar]], Turkey's interior minister. Weapons were also found, and evidence suggested brake tampering. (Williams, p. 265-266)

"Susurluk Incident" Revelations: This event, likened to Watergate in Turkey, provided proof of Çatlı's connections to high offices and suspicion that he was protected by law enforcement while committing terrorism. Marc Grossman, the US Ambassador to Turkey, allegedly assisting Çatlı and the "deep state" (derin devlet), was mysteriously removed from his post. Grossman was the "handler" for the Grey Wolves and met regularly with Turkish "babas" and intelligence officials. The Susurluk Commission discovered that the link between the Turkish government and organized crime was strengthened by the Turkish National Security Council's decision to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey's deputy prime minister Tansu Çiller had directed the national police force, under Mehmet Ağar, to launch operations. (Williams, p. 266)

Early 2000s: Post-Cold War Gladio and Continued Allegations

Mehmet Ali Ağca's Release and Continued Detention: After serving almost 20 years in Italy, Ağca was pardoned and deported to Turkey in June 2000. He was then imprisoned for the 1979 murder of Abdi İpekçi and other crimes. After various legal processes, he was finally released from prison on January 18, 2010. 

Allegations of US Involvement in Post-Cold War Terrorism (2010): 

FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds stated that between 1996 and 2002, the US planned, financed, and helped execute major terrorist incidents by Chechen rebels and Mujahideen against Russia, and similar schemes in Xinjiang. She also claimed at least two assassination schemes against pro-Russian officials in Azerbaijan between 1996 and 2001. These claims suggest Gladio's continued relevance beyond the Cold War. (Williams, p. 265)

Mohammed Zayat and Milli Görüş (1997 onwards): Mohammed Zayat, an influential Islamist in Europe, founded SIM in 1997 and has strong ties to the Turkish Islamist group Milli Görüş, having married the daughter of its former head and niece of its founder, Necmettin Erbakan. This highlights the ongoing connections between various Islamist groups and their financial networks in Europe. (A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Muslim Brotherhood in the West by Johnson (2010), p. 230)

Mehmet Ali Ağca visits Pope John Paul II's Tomb (December 27, 2014): Ağca, 31 years after the Pope visited him in prison and forgave him, laid white roses on the late pontiff's tomb in the Vatican. (1.8)






According to Paul Williams, in his book Operation Gladio:

""Ağca began his criminal career as a drug smuggler on the Balkan route. He rose to become one of Uğurlu's trusted couriers, making regular trips to deliver messages and payments to Henri Arsan at Stibam in Milan Eventually, he became one of the baba's bodyguards and hit men, working with Çatlı and Oral Çelik.39 KILLING IPEKCI On February 1, 1979, Ağca took part in the murder of Abdi İpekçi, the editor-in-chief of Milliyet, one of Turkey's leading daily newspapers. When taken into custody, Ağca quickly confessed, saying, "Yes, I shot and killed İpekçi. I was alone and I fired four or five times." But there was a problem with his testimony. A total of thirteen spent cartridges were found at the scene of the crime.40 İpekçi was one of Turkey's most distinguished journalists and his assassination shocked the nation. Ağca received a life sentence and was incarcerated in an Istanbul prison. After serving six months, he "escaped" wearing an army uniform. There was, in fact, no flight. He simply strolled from the jail in August 1979, with Abdullah Çatlı as his escort." The babas needed him to get back to work."

Agar would cross paths with Fr. Felix Morlion as part of Operation Gladio.

"Fr. Felix Morlion, a Belgian priest, was affiliate with the Hyperion Language School (the intelligence agencies love to hide spies in language schools) and served to establish a branch of the "school" in Rome. During World War II, he had worked closely with Wild Bill Donovan and the [[Office of Strategic Services]] by creating Pro Deo, a Catholic intelligence agency. When the Nazis seize control of Western Europe, Donovan, relocated Morlion, and his agency from Lisbon to New York. In 1945, the priest relocated to Rome (which coincides with the Nazi rat line set up and the creation of the stay behind network later referred to as Operation Gladio), where he became the private emissary of Pope Pius XII and four of the pope's successors. Throughout the 1960s, he remained a pivotal US intelligence agent, as witness by his key role in the Cuban missile crisis. At JFK is urging, the Dominican priest had attended a strategic meeting in Andover, Massachusetts, where he established a communication channel between Moscow and Washington, mediated by Pope John Paul XXIII, through whom messages were passed that brought an end to the threat of nuclear war. 

In 1966, Morlion established, with funding from the CIA, the [[Pro Deo University]] which began Libera University Internationale degli Studi Sociali ([[the International University of Social Studies]]). (another intelligence gathering entity posing as a school) As President of the new university, Morlion became a force in the formation of the right wing policies of the Italian government. He also reportedly began recruiting of terrorist and assassins, including Moretti and Mehmet Ali Agca, who attempted the hit on John Paul II)."

"Questions about Morlion's involvement in the Moro matter first arose from the discovery of photos, taken by Pecorelli, of the prominent priest in the company of leading Italian military intelligence officials at the time of the kidnapping. Such questions became more pressing when the Rome office of the Hyperion School, which Morlion helped to establish, opened shortly before the Moro kidnapping, only to close the following autumn."

"Even more puzzling is the fact that the Pro Deo founder received prominent mention in the secret files of Licio Gelli (which were seized by the Italian police in 1982)" Gelli was the grandmaster of the P2 masonic lodge, prominent in the Operation Gladio network in Italy.